Tag Archives: race discrimination

The criminal justice system in the United States is an unqualified disaster — the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics report (pdf) gives black men a one in three chance of ending up in prison at some point in their lives — compared to about a 5% chance for white men. So we’re already missing an astounding number of black men from the labor pool by the sheer fact that they’re locked up.

But it doesn’t get much better when they get out. We’ve already discussed how identical job applicants with “black” sounding names are much less likely to get called for a job interview. Add in a conviction record, and suddenly a black candidate’s chances of being called for an interview drop to about 5%. (Does it get worse? Of course it does — a black applicant with no conviction record is still less likely to get a job interview than a white applicant with a conviction record.) That 5% statistic was in 2003 — think how much worse a black ex-con’s chances are now, with the unemployment rate climbing astronomically. Continue reading →

The economy is a wreck, and everyone’s looking for a job. The unemployment numbers for blacks and Hispanics continue to outpace that of whites. If you think the disparities are all about education levels, think again. Discrimination complaints at the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) are at an all time high. While not every complaint is valid, it’s a good bet that discrimination in hiring is affecting a large number of job seekers.

A recent article on LearnVest reveals just how flawed the hiring process is. While the article reads like advice, the real lesson is that hiring decisions are permeated with bias and the opportunity to discriminate. Continue reading →

About

Virtually everyone is required to work in order to live. Many of us will spend the majority of our waking hours at work, spending more time with bosses and coworkers than our friends and families. Our jobs are an important part of our identity (whether we like it or not). Employment and workplace laws generate the background rules through which we, knowingly or otherwise, negotiate the terms and conditions governing a substantial portion of our lives.

Christine Clarke works as an attorney in New York City representing employees. This blog reflects her personal views, and neither represents the views of her firm nor constitutes legal advice.